Classic Cary

When I was supping with John Atkinson and Michael Fremer, Mikey mentioned how impressed he was with Cary's true high-end surround processor, the Cinema 11. At Axpona I encountered the North Carolina company's more traditional line, assembled by Fort Lauderdale dealer Let There Be Sound: Cary CAD211 Founder's Edition monoblocks ($20,000), running 70Wpc pure triode; Cary SLP-05 linestage ($8000), Cary CD306 SACD Pro player ($8000), and Cary PH-302 Mk.II phono stage ($3500). Also called into play were the Acoustic Solid Royal turntable ($18,000) with Shelter Harmony cartridge ($5300), Isotek Sigmas A/C. conditioner ($2700), and a large assortment of Cable Research Labs (CRL) cables. Cary's signature sound demonstrated why the company is thought of so highly in the audiophile community.

The Cary PH-302 Mk.II headphone jack wasn't working correctly at the show. Sound was only coming from the left channel. The Cary guy said sorry about this and I left the room. $8000 preamp with a busted headphone jack, yikes.

I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Serinus for his kind words towards our Let There Be Sound/Cary Audio Design co-sponsored suite. It was a true blast to have met such wonderful people throughout the event and feel honored to have been given an opportunity to share our passion for music.Lastly, I would like to humbly mention three other manufacturers involved in our setup which surely played a huge part of its success: Danish loudspeakers maker System Audio's flagship Explorer, A/C line conditioning by Isotek's Sigmas, and last but not least cabling by Cable Research Lab (CRL) which was another sponsor of our suite. All the best!Oswaldo MartinezPresidentLet There Be Sound, Inc.

I would like to clarify Mr. Cohen's comments reference to the "busted headphone jack".Firstly, once again I would like to apologize to Mr. Cohen for the inability of being able to properly demo this amazing product's headphone capabilities. Secondly, to clarify, the unit in question is the SLP-05, not the PH-302 Mk. II - that's the phono stage.And lastly, if Mr. Cohen's impression was that somehow I was indifferent to his needs, once again I offer an apology as that was not my intention. My recollection is that I was quite responsive in trying to rectify the problem, which greatly frustrated me as well : ( and that I excused myself once it was clear I was not going to be able to fix it mid-session and with a packed house waiting to hear the system through the Danish System-Audio speakers. Very sorry it did not work out.Being that the jack has worked before my suspicion is we simply have a bad tube in its headphone section, that's all.All the best,Oswaldo MartinezLet There Be Sound, Inc.

I should put more information on my post (I was rushing as I was typing) so I do apologize for the error of saying the wrong product. I do remember you trying to get the headphone jack working but it was no dice. You guys are forgiven with the Xciter amp. The headphone amp in there was good so I was happy with that. Still the non-working SLP-05 headphone jack let me with a slight bad taste in my mouth. Things do happpen so I understand. I'm guessing it is one of the tubes. Thank you for responding to my comment and sorry if my previous post was rude.

I just want to say that Oz from Let there be sound is an amazing guy. I met him while I was in Ft. Lauderdale on a business trip and I can assure anyone who's reading this that he is a real class act and will spend TONS of time working with you to help you get your system together just right. I am also a very big Cary fan, which is how I met Oz in the first place. It sounds like it was a great show indeed!

I appreciate your kind response Jonathan. No worries. I did not feel your response was rude at all. I was more concerned if you thought I had let you down plus also felt it important to clarify the exact model so we don't confuse anyone.In any event, glad you enjoyed our suite otherwise and hope the rest of your Axpona experience was superb all around. Best.

Submitted by William Antonello (not verified) on March 13, 2010 - 7:20am

Just ran across this Post and congrats to Cary, System Audio, Isotek and Cable Research for great sound! To all readers, when in Fort Lauderdale visit the beach, Las Olas shopping and more ... but don't miss Oz Martinez from "Let There Be Sound" - a splendid time is guaranteed for all. A number of us in the service industry could learn something from his service ethic. All the best!